Just feeling a little hopeless with all this OCD stuff, not knowing if things will ever get better. I see a terrific OCD Specialist, but I can't seem to do all the things he expects me to do, and I still experience confusion and anxiety so often. It's just so frustrating.
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Does it ever get better?
- Thread starter TotallyDependingOnJesus
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gracealone
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Hi Totally,
Things will indeed get better but not overnight. Progress can only be measured over the long haul.
If he is asking you to allow the thoughts to be there without responding to them or engaging in debate with them he is advising you correctly. This doesn't mean that the anxiety disappears right away as it usually rears up in the beginning of trying to ignore the thoughts. If you expect that then you won't feel so blind sided by it. Try and think of the anxiety in a very clinical manner. "Darn it - there goes my brain again - misfiring by sending me all these false alarm signals. It really feels rotten but I know it doesn't mean anything."
Think of the OCD thoughts as allergens to your brain. In order to get over an allergy we have to allow exposure to it through allergy shots. In the beginning they really irritate and make us feel itchy but as we gradually become desensitized to them they don't affect us anymore. Same thing with the thoughts. The more you allow exposure to them without "scratching the itch" by attending to them the more your brain will - over time become used to their presence and quit sending out all those false alarm signals.
I know it's very distressing. But stick with the therapy. Keep trying even when you fail. We all slip up a lot in the beginning but practice makes perfect.
Praying for you,
Mitzi
Things will indeed get better but not overnight. Progress can only be measured over the long haul.
If he is asking you to allow the thoughts to be there without responding to them or engaging in debate with them he is advising you correctly. This doesn't mean that the anxiety disappears right away as it usually rears up in the beginning of trying to ignore the thoughts. If you expect that then you won't feel so blind sided by it. Try and think of the anxiety in a very clinical manner. "Darn it - there goes my brain again - misfiring by sending me all these false alarm signals. It really feels rotten but I know it doesn't mean anything."
Think of the OCD thoughts as allergens to your brain. In order to get over an allergy we have to allow exposure to it through allergy shots. In the beginning they really irritate and make us feel itchy but as we gradually become desensitized to them they don't affect us anymore. Same thing with the thoughts. The more you allow exposure to them without "scratching the itch" by attending to them the more your brain will - over time become used to their presence and quit sending out all those false alarm signals.
I know it's very distressing. But stick with the therapy. Keep trying even when you fail. We all slip up a lot in the beginning but practice makes perfect.
Praying for you,
Mitzi
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Everything gracealone said, I've noticed that although the stressing hasn't lessened overnight, the OCD has gotten a lot less frequent- and I couldn't be happier about it. Little by little, I see how God is using things to help me overcome my fears. those times are the best 
Hanging in there.
Giving Glory to God only
LadyL
Hanging in there.
Giving Glory to God only
LadyL
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zingiber
Post nubila, Phoebus
People can get almost completely better, acording to what I have read. However, my therapist, a psychologist, told me that you never really lose OCD. The potential to worsen remains; fortunately it is possible to improve and stay well. Even John Bunyan had some slips backwards later in life, but for the most part, he couldn't have been better.
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as mitzi said, try not to scratch. it's frustrating because we think it will make us feel better, but only for that moment, and it will worsen.
the OCD has gotten a lot less frequent- and I couldn't be happier about it. Little by little, I see how God is using things to help me overcome my fears. those times are the best amen Lady L
and try to remember Totally, that although we might fall many times, we don't stay down. it is better to fall 9 times and rise after each fall, then to fall and stay down. it might seem like you're failing because you keep slipping, but we're in the Lord's hands and there is power and victory and healing in our Savior's hands. He is amazing. stay encouraged. praying.
the OCD has gotten a lot less frequent- and I couldn't be happier about it. Little by little, I see how God is using things to help me overcome my fears. those times are the best amen Lady L
and try to remember Totally, that although we might fall many times, we don't stay down. it is better to fall 9 times and rise after each fall, then to fall and stay down. it might seem like you're failing because you keep slipping, but we're in the Lord's hands and there is power and victory and healing in our Savior's hands. He is amazing. stay encouraged. praying.
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